The present invention generally relates to a tofu making apparatus for use in small business or for domestic use.
A homemade tofu for small business or for domestic use has conventionally been produced in the following process: namely, (1) soybeans are soaked in water all night long, (2) the swollen soybeans are added water as much as five times the weight of the soybeans, and smashed to pieces by a mixer for about one minute to obtain raw, non-filtered bean juice (juice of raw soybeans), (3) the raw, non-filtered bean juice is put into a pan for boiling for about 15-20 minutes, (4) the boiled bean juice is squeezed by a juicer or filtered by the use of a gauze, so that the boiled bean juice is separated into bean juice and bean cakes (beancurd refuses), (5) a coagulating agent (such as calcium sulfate) is added to the bean juice which is then poured into a mold and stirred up slightly, (6) the bean juice in the mold is heated up about 70.degree. C., and kept at that temperature for about 20 minutes until it is coagulated.
Not only because the conventional tofu making process is so complicated as described above, but because it requires careful considerations should be taken into, for example, the boiling temperature of the raw bean juice, the boiling time period or the separation technique of the raw bean juice into bean juice and bean cakes, etc., it has been quite difficult to produce tofu uniformly.